Columbia Fire Chief Andy Woody resigning to lead fire training academy in Arkansas
Columbia Fire Chief Andy Woody is resigning his position and has accepted a new job as director of the Arkansas Fire Training Academy at Southern Arkansas University Tech in Camden, Arkansas.
Woody was hired by the City of Columbia in December 2019 and started in his role as fire chief Jan. 13, 2020.
The academy announced his hiring Friday morning.
Woody’s last day as fire chief will be Feb. 25, city spokesperson Sydney Olsen wrote in an email to the Tribune on Friday. City manager De'Carlon Seewood will announce an interim chief by that date, Olsen added.
Priorities as Columbia fire chief
At a meet-and-greet event soon after Woody started with the city, he said that his priorities were on internal department communication and new facilities.
“Nothing that is specific to our agency, but obviously internal communication is going to be an issue,” Woody said in January 2020. “We have three shifts of firefighters with nine stations and a training facility, so consistent, constant communication is a challenge.”
More: Land ownership question pauses city acquiring site for new fire station
The city is working toward building two new fire stations in southwest and east Columbia.
The Columbia City Council in December paused potential negotiations with an eastern Columbia landowner over the planned station in that area. A couple has a lease-to-own agreement with the landowner, complicating the land-purchase process.
Andy Woody's path to Columbia
Woody came to Columbia from the Searcy, Arkansas, Fire Department, where he was the chief. He started with the Searcy Fire Department in 2015 as its training officer before his promotion to chief in 2017.
“I wanted to have someone who is out in the public eye and talking to them, making sure they understand our issues in the fire department — why it’s important we have these stations in a certain place and why we keep funding them,” former city manager John Glascock said in 2020 about Woody's hire.
During his career, Woody has also spent time as an adjunct instructor for the University of Missouri’s Fire and Rescue Training Institute.
His career began in 1997 with the Springfield Fire Department, where he eventually rose in the ranks to assistant fire chief.
More: Fire chiefs: Resolved court case belies relationship city, county fire departments share
Andy Woody to transition soon to Arkansas Fire Training Academy
While the announcement from Southern Arkansas University Tech did not indicate when Woody will start as director of the training academy, its current director, Rachel Nix, is retiring in March.
Woody will be on hand for a smooth leadership transition, the university reported, noting the academy's deputy director retired Thursday.
The Southern Arkansas University Tech chancellor said in the announcement he is excited to work with Woody on projects that benefit the Arkansas Fire Service.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia fire chief transitions to head Arkansas Fire Training Academy
